Ramanujacharya – Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

on you should never again address me as 'brother', for Ihave heard from the lips of Sailapurna that you are now mymaster."RETURN TO SRI RANGAMSeeing Govinda's fatigue from his travels, Yatirajahad him bathe and then take prasada. From that time on,Govinda rendered service to his cousin in the samemeticulous way he had done for Sailapurna. The party ofVaisnavas remained for three more nights in Kancipuram andthen travelled on to Astasahasra. There they stayed for thenight with Yajnesa, Yatiraja's wealthy disciple who hadpreviously been so disappointed. The next day they continuedon to Sri Rangam and were warmly welcomed by all theinhabitants of that city.GOVINDA'S SERVICENow realizing that his gurus intention had been toentrust him completely to the care of Ramanuja, Govindaserved his cousin with a contented heart. Within a few dayshe had discovered all of his new master's requirements andrendered service to him so perfectly that all the otherdisciples were struck with wonder. One day, while they weretalking with Govinda, some of them elaborately praised thequality of his service. On hearing this, Govinda surprisedthem by saying, "Yes, my good qualities are certainly worthyof praise."Shocked at hearing such proud words from a Vaisnava,they reported the incident to Yatiraja, who called Govindato him, saying, "Although it is true that all the goodqualities of a devotee are seen in your person, you shouldnever allow this to make you feel arrogant or conceited."To this Govinda replied, "After many thousands ofbirths, I obtained this human form of life, but even then Iwas going astray and falling from the path of trueperfection. It was your mercy alone that saved me from thedarkness of delusion and therefore whatever good qualitiesothers may see in me are due to you alone, for I am bynature fallen and low-minded. Thus whenever anyone offers mewords of praise, it is in actuality praise of yourself. Forthis reason I fully approve of such statements."On another occasion, when several of Yatiraja'sdisciples were walking to the asrama, they were shocked tosee Govinda, who had not even finished his morning duties,sitting down outside the house of a prostitute. AgainYatiraja summoned his cousin to ask him about his unusualbehavior. "Why were you sitting at the door of aprostitute's house instead of attending to your morningduties," he inquired.75